Disenchanting and scrapping: materials from unwanted gear

You don't have to sell an unwanted green, blue or purple item to the Merchant. An enchanter can disenchant it, and a leatherworker can scrap it if it's leather or mail armour: the item disappears and you get crafting materials in return.

How to do it

1. Learn Enchanting (to disenchant) or Leatherworking (to scrap). Any skill works — even 1.
2. Open your bag, tap the item and choose "Disenchant" or "Scrap".
3. A window shows what you'll get. Confirm — this can't be undone.

Only an item in your bag can be broken down: not equipped and not listed at the Auction House.

What disenchanting gives

Legendary (orange) items can't be disenchanted. "Required level" is the "requires level N" line in the item's tooltip: it and the item's quality decide the result, not its Item Level.

What scrapping gives

Only leather and mail armour, green or better (legendary too), can be scrapped. Plate, cloth, weapons and accessories can't.

• Green and blue — Medium Leather ×1; blue from required level 36 and green from 41 — Medium Leather ×2 and Thick Leather ×1.
• Purple and orange — Thick Leather ×1 and Medium Leather ×1.

What can't be broken down

• grey and white (common) items — sell them to the Merchant;
• legendary items — they can't be disenchanted (legendary leather and mail armour can still be scrapped);
• heirloom items — they can only be deleted;
• personal legendary relics: Crown of the Conqueror, Cloak of a Thousand Battles, Hammer of the First Forge, Medallion of Zarhold;
• unique (turquoise) and account-bound items;
• bags, quest items, junk and Pouch stacks.

Personal green, blue and purple items (Battle Pass rewards, for example) and items granted by the administration can be broken down like any other — they just can't be passed to another player. If a green or better item can't be broken down, its "Disenchant" or "Scrap" button is greyed out with the reason underneath.

Skill

The requirement comes from the level the item was made for (the "requires level N" line), not from its Item Level: 1 + (level − 1) × 5 (a level-20 item is 96, a level-60 item is 296). After that the usual colours apply: an item that's grey for you gives no skill, a green one gives it 1 time in 3. An item above your skill counts as orange and always gives a point. Each breakdown is worth 1 point.

Disenchanting materials feed an enchanter's scrolls, and tailors and alchemists need them too — see Which professions to pick.